First Baptist Church Archaeology Project

Colonial Williamsburg has partnered with the First Baptist Church of Williamsburg and the Let Freedom Ring Foundation to locate the remains of the Nassau Street site of the First Baptist Church. The First Baptist Church of Williamsburg is one of the country’s earliest African American congregations and was founded by free and enslaved Black worshippers. This project will guide how this site is interpreted, commemorated, and ultimately recreated so present and future generations may learn about this nationally significant Church.

In the first phase of excavation, the team located the foundation of the 1856 church, along with the remains of an earlier building. While we do not yet know whether the remains of the early structure represent the “Baptist Meeting House,” where the congregation worshipped beginning in the early 19th century, a second phase of work is set to begin in January 2021 and hopes to answer that question and many more. In the second, expanded phase of excavation, the team will be taking a closer look at the previously identified structure and searching for others on the lot to try and locate the building where the congregation first met for worship in the city of Williamsburg.

In addition to identifying any structures that may have served as an early meeting space for the congregation that would come to be known as the First Baptist Church, archaeologists will work to identify burials that may be associated with the church. This process will be guided by members of the First Baptist Church and the community of its descendants so that any burials located may be protected and memorialized.

The archaeological work at the Historic First Baptist Church of Williamsburg on Nassau Street offers a unique opportunity for Colonial Williamsburg to strengthen our partnership with the Church and its community of descendants. Together, we will work to understand and share the story of this nationally significant site.

Read updates from the project timeline below to learn more.

November 2020 – As phase one of excavations wrap up, community and archaeology project leaders met to discuss to share key findings, including evidence of burial grounds. Read our blog update and watch our community meeting in the video section below.

• Read news coverage:
  • The New York Times: Grave Is Found at Site of Historic Black Church in Colonial Williamsburg
  • Washington Post: Graves found at site of historic Virginia Black church
  • WIRED: The Quest to Unearth One of America’s Oldest Black Churches
  • WYDaily.com: Here are the key findings so far in the excavation of the Historic First Baptist Church of Williamsburg site
  • The Virginia Gazette: Archaeologists in Colonial Williamsburg uncover more findings at First Baptist Church site as Phase 1 of the dig ends
• Watch news coverage:
  • WTKR (CBS Norfolk): Discovered human remains to be identified and will help learn local church's history, researchers say

October 2020 – Phase one excavations revealed intact foundations of the early First Baptist Church structure. In addition to unearthing the church’s 19th-century foundations, archaeologists found a smaller brick structure that predates the 1856 building.

• Read news coverage:
  • Virginia Gazette: Archaeologists in Colonial Williamsburg uncover foundations of historic First Baptist Church, one of America’s oldest churches founded by free and enslaved Blacks
  • The Dogwood: Searching for History: Group Uncovers Virginia’s First Black Church
• Watch news coverage:
  • UNEARTHING HISTORY: The dig to find America's first Black congregation in Colonial WilliamsburgWVEC (ABC Norfolk)

September 2020 - Under guidance of First Baptist Church, we began to excavate the site of America’s oldest church founded by enslaved and free blacks at the intersection of Nassau and Francis streets in Colonial Williamsburg’s Historic Area. Read our press release.

• Read news coverage:
  • Washington Post: Beneath a Virginia parking lot rest the bones of an old Black church and, perhaps, its worshipers
  • Smithsonian Magazine: Archaeologists Are Excavating One of the Nation’s Oldest Black Churches
  • NBC News: Archaeologists dig to uncover one of America's first Black churches in Colonial Williamsburg
  • Virginia Mercury: ‘Part of the destiny of this country’: Church site excavation aims to unearth African American contributions
  • Because of Them We Can: Archaeologists Work to Uncover One of America’s First Known Black Christian Churches
• Watch news coverage:
  • WAVY: Colonial Williamsburg starts dig at site of historic Black church
• Listen to news coverage
  • WHRO Radio: 'We Were Here, We Counted, We Mattered': A Historic Black Church Rediscovers Its Roots in Colonial Williamsburg

May 2020 - First Baptist Church and Colonial Williamsburg teamed up with archaeologists from the Jamestown Rediscovery Foundation to conduct ground-penetrating radar. Radar indicated evidence of remains of the early structure used by members of First Baptist Church — originally founded in secret by free and enslaved Blacks at the start of America’s Revolution — prompting the planning of further excavations.

You can watch a virtual meeting with community stakeholders below, for an update on the results of the first phase of archaeological research. Members of First Baptist Church, the City of Williamsburg, the College of William and Mary, and Colonial Williamsburg met on November 23, 2020, moderated by Connie Mathews Harshaw, President of the Let Freedom Ring Foundation. Discussions included how to proceed with the next phase of archaeological investigation, with a focus on the treatment of any burials and human remains.

You will hear comments and presentations from Cliff Fleet (CEO of Colonial Williamsburg), Dr. Rev. Reginald Davis (Pastor of First Baptist Church), Jack Gary (Director of Archaeology for Colonial Williamsburg), Dr. Michael Blakey (Director of the Institute for Historical Biology at William and Mary), Rev. Juanita Graham (Chair of the Oral History Committee), and Ron Hurst (Vice President for Museums, Preservation, and Historic Resources at Colonial Williamsburg).